CFTC Chair Says Agency Will Defend Sole Federal Oversight of Prediction Markets

CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said at the Vanderbilt University Digital Assets Summit that the agency will continue to assert in court that it holds exclusive regulatory authority over prediction markets. Selig said products lawfully listed on exchanges under CFTC jurisdiction—covering sports, politics, and other event-based contracts—are within the commission's remit. He added that states cannot use gambling laws to supersede federal derivatives rules. He also noted that the DoddFrank Act empowers the CFTC to decide whether such contracts run counter to the public interest, and said the commission is moving to formalize a regulatory framework for prediction markets through the legislative process. Separately, Selig pointed to last month's final interpretive guidance issued jointly by the CFTC and the SEC, which sets out a classification system intended to clarify accountability in the handling of assets such as tokenized securities.